Cancer Registry Service Contract Amendment to Address Questions and to Extend the Quote Submission Date/Time

This is a Combined Synopsis/Solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only Solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.



Solicitation number 36C25718Q9071_1 is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ).



The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular.



SET-ASIDE:  This requirement is a Total Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this procurement is 923120. In accordance with VAAR 852.219-11, any SDVOSB submitting a quote for this action must be verified for ownership and control and is so listed in the vendor information pages database (http://www.vetbiz.gov) upon submission of quote. Only qualified offerors may submit bids.



In addition, in accordance with FAR 52.204-7, System for Award Management, the Offeror must be eligible and registered in System for Award Management (SAM) database. Contractors may obtain SAM information at https://www.sam.gov. Registration is free and potential offerors are encouraged to visit the SAM website because no contracts can be awarded to an offeror not registered in SAM.



Introduction: A Firm Fixed Price award will be made to the lowest priced quote which conforms to the requirements within this solicitation and represents the best price to the Government.

Description of Services: The North Texas Health Care System Dallas VA Medical Center located at 4500 S. Lancaster Road. Dallas Texas, 75216, requires a contractor to provide Cancer Registry Services.

See attached Statement of Work (SOW).

Place of Performance: Dallas VA Medical Center, 4500 S. Lancaster Road. Dallas Texas, 75216

Period of Performance: Base plus four option year renewals

Base Year:                    June 30, 2018 June 29, 2019

Option Year One:         June 30, 2019 June 29, 2020

Option Year Two:         June 30, 2020 June 29, 2021

Option Year Three:       June 30, 2021 June 29, 2022

Option Year Four:       June 30, 2022 June 29, 2023



The following clauses and provisions apply to this solicitation:



52.209-5, Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters



52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items



52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items



52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statues or Executive Orders-Commercial Items

52.217-8, Option to Extend Services (NOV 1999)



The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 30 days.

(End of Clause)

EVALUATIONS OF OPTIONS (JULY 1990)

Except when it is determined in accordance with FAR 17.206(b) not to be in the Government s best interests, the Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. This includes options under FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services, which applies to this solicitation.  Evaluation of options under FAR 52.217-8 will be accomplished by using the prices offered for the last option period to determine the price for a 6-month option period, which will be added to the base and other option years to arrive at the total price.  Evaluation of options will not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

































(End of Addendum)



52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract



a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 60 days; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 60 days. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.



(b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.



(c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed five years.

52.203-17 Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights and Requirements to Inform Employees of Whistleblower Right

52.203-99 Prohibition of Contracting with Entities That Require Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements

52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting

52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns (OCT 2014) (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(2) and (3).

52.219-27 Notice of Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside

52.222-3, Convict Labor

52.222-41, Service Contract Labor Standards (MAY 2014) (41 U.S.C. chapter 67)

52.222-42, Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires (MAY 2014) (29 U.S.C. 206 and 41 U.S.C. chapter 67)

52.222-43, Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Labor Standards Price Adjustment (Multiple Year and Option Contracts) (MAY 2014) (29 U.S.C. 206 and 41 U.S.C. chapter 67)

52.222-55, Minimum Wages Under Executive Order 13658 (DEC 2015)

52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving



52.232-19, Availability of Funds for the Next Fiscal Year

52.228-5 Insurance-Work on a Government Installation (JAN 1997)



52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-System for Award Management

52.237-3 Continuity of Services (JAN 1991)



52.232-39, Unenforceability of Unauthorized Obligations (In the FAR https://www.acquisition.gov/far/html/52_232.html#wp1160005)

52.233-3, Protest after Award (In the FAR https://www.acquisition.gov/far/html/52_233_240.html)

852.203-70, Commercial Advertising

852.219-10 VA Notice of Total Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business Set-Aside

852.232-72, Electronic Submission of Payment Requests



852.237-70, Contractor Responsibilities



52.252-1, Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference:



This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es).



52.252-2, Clauses Incorporated by Reference:



This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address (es). Full text can be obtained at http://www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html

LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTING-- MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE (JUN 2011)

This solicitation includes FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting, and VAAR 852.219-10, VA Notice of Total Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set- Aside. Accordingly, any contract resulting from this solicitation will include this clause. The contractor is advised in performing contract administration functions, the CO may use the services of a support contractor(s) retained by VA to assist in assessing the contractor's compliance with the limitations on subcontracting or percentage of work performance requirements specified in the clause. To that end, the support contractor(s) may require access to contractor's offices where the contractor's business records or other proprietary data are retained and to review such business records regarding the contractor's compliance with this requirement. All support contractors conducting this review on behalf of VA will be required to sign an Information Protection and Non-Disclosure and Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest Agreement to ensure the contractor's business records or other proprietary data reviewed or obtained in the course of assisting the CO in assessing the contractor for compliance are protected to ensure information or data is not improperly disclosed or other impropriety occurs. Furthermore, if VA determines any services the support contractor(s) will perform in assessing compliance are advisory and assistance services as defined in FAR 2.101, Definitions, the support contractor(s) must also enter into an agreement with the contractor to protect proprietary information as required by FAR 9.505-4, obtaining access to proprietary information, paragraph (b). The contractor is required to cooperate fully and make available any records as may be required to enable the CO to assess the contractor's compliance with the limitations on subcontracting or percentage of work performance requirement.



SUBMISSION OF QUOTE (FAR 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS COMMERCIAL ITEMS):



The Offeror shall submit their quote on company letterhead and shall include unit price listed for the base and option years, over all total price, name, address, and telephone number of the offeror, firm's DUNS# and ORCA document in SAM at www.sam.gov. Complete copy of 52.212-3 Offerors Representations and Certifications- Commercial Items, and ORCA document.

The offeror shall provide sufficient evidence that they possess adequate resources, capability, experience, responsibility and integrity to meet the technical capabilities to comply with the requirements of the resulting contract.



All quotes received without this documentation will not be considered.

All questions must be emailed to ReginaldD.Hayes@va.gov and Victoria.Rone3@va.gov, no later than Tuesday, June 19, 2018 Noon CST. The subject line must specify (36C25718Q9071_1 - Cancer Registry Services). All responses to questions will be incorporated into a written amendment posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website (www.fbo.gov). Offerors are encouraged to monitor the Federal Business Opportunities website with respect to this solicitation because any amendments to this Solicitation will be posted on the website (www.fbo.gov). There will be no automated email notification of amendments.



Quotes must be received no later than Monday, June 25, 2018, Noon CST. Email your quote to ReginaldD.Hayes@va.gov and Victoria.Rone3@va.gov. The subject line must specify (36C25718Q9071_1 - Cancer Registry Services). There will be no automated email notification of receipt of quotes. All quotes received without requested documentation will not be considered.



Quote Should Be Broken Down As Follows:

PRICE COST SCHEDULE

BASE YEAR:

ITEM NUMBER

DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

QUANTITY

UNIT

UNIT PRICE

AMOUNT

0001

Project CTR -1 Hour

Contract Period:

Base

June 30, 2018 thru

June 29, 2019

Approx. 200



Each

$

$





0002

Project Mgmt -1 Hour Approx. 400 Each

Contract Period:

Base

June 30, 2018 thru

June 29, 2019

0003

Abstracting 1 Hour

Contract Period:

Base

June 30, 2018 thru

June 29, 2019

Approx. 4500

Each

$

$









0004

Case Finding 1 Hour

Base

June 30, 2018 thru

June 29, 2019

Approx. 3500

Each

$

$









0005

Quality Control 1 Hour

Base

June 30, 2018 thru

June 29, 2019

Approx. 600

Each

$

$











OPTION YEAR 1:

ITEM NUMBER

DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

QUANTITY

UNIT

UNIT PRICE

AMOUNT

1000

Project CTR -1 Hour

Contract Period:

Option Year One

June 30, 2019 thru

June 29, 2020

Approx. 200



Each

$

$





1001

Project Mgmt -1 Hour Approx. 400 Each

Contract Period:

Option Year 1

June 30, 2019 thru

June 29, 2020

1002

Abstracting 1 Hour

Option Year One

June 30, 2019 thru

June 29, 2020

Approx. 4500

Each

$

$









1004

Case Finding 1 Hour

Contract Period

Option Year One

June 30, 2019 thru

June 29, 2020

Approx. 3500

Each

$

$









1005

Quality Control 1 Hour

Option Year One

June 30, 2019 thru

June 29, 2020

Approx. 600

Each

$

$











OPTION YEAR 2:

ITEM NUMBER

DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

QUANTITY

UNIT

UNIT PRICE

AMOUNT

2000

Project CTR -1 Hour

Contract Period:

Option Year Two

June 30, 2020 thru

June 29, 2021

Approx. 200



Each

$

$





2001

Project Mgmt -1 Hour Approx. 400 Each

Contract Period:

Option Year Two

June 30, 2020 thru

June 29, 2021

2002

Abstracting 1 Hour

Contract Period:

Option Year Two

June 30, 2020 thru

June 29, 2021

Approx. 4500

Each

$

$









2004

Case Finding 1 Hour

Contract Period:

Option Year Two

June 30, 2020 thru

June 29, 2021

Approx. 3500

Each

$

$









2005

Quality Control 1 Hour

Contract Period:

Option Year Two

June 30, 2020 thru

June 29, 2021

Approx. 600

Each

$

$











OPTION YEAR 3:

ITEM NUMBER

DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

QUANTITY

UNIT

UNIT PRICE

AMOUNT

3000

Project CTR -1 Hour

Contract Period:

Option Year Three

June 30, 2021 thru

June 29, 2022

Approx. 200



Each

$

$





3001

Project Mgmt -1 Hour Approx. 400 Each

Contract Period:

Option Year Three

June 30, 2021 thru

June 29, 2022

3002

Abstracting 1 Hour

Contract Period:

Option Year Three

June 30, 2021 thru

June 29, 2022

Approx. 4500

Each

$

$









3004

Case Finding 1 Hour

Contract Period:

Option Year Three

June 30, 2021 thru

June 29, 2022

Approx. 3500

Each

$

$









3005

Quality Control 1 Hour

Contract Period:

Option Year Three

June 30, 2021 thru

June 29, 2022

Approx. 600

Each

$

$











OPTION YEAR 4:

ITEM NUMBER

DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

QUANTITY

UNIT

UNIT PRICE

AMOUNT

4000

Project CTR -1 Hour

Contract Period:

Option Year Four

June 30, 2022 thru

June 29, 2023

Approx. 200



Each

$

$





4001

Project Mgmt -1 Hour Approx. 400 Each

Contract Period:

Option Year Four

June 30, 2022 thru

June 29, 2023

4002

Abstracting 1 Hour

Contract Period:

Option Year Four

June 30, 2022 thru

June 29, 2023

Approx. 4500

Each

$

$









4004

Case Finding 1 Hour

Contract Period:

Option Year Four

June 30, 2022 thru

June 29, 2023



Approx. 3500

Each

$

$









4005

Quality Control 1 Hour

Contract Period:

Option Year Four

June 30, 2022 thru

June 29, 2023

Approx. 600

Each

$

$











BASE AND ALL OPTION YEARS GRAND TOTAL $ __________________________________

SIX- MONTH EXTENSION - PRICE/COST SCHEDULE

(IN ACCORDANCE WITH FAR 52.217-8 OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES)

ITEM NUMBER

DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

QUANTITY

UNIT

UNIT PRICE

AMOUNT

5000

Project CTR -1 Hour

Six Month Extension:

June 30, 2023 thru

December 29, 2023

Approx. 100



Each

$

$





5001

Project Mgmt -1 Hour Approx. 200 Each

Six Month Extension:

June 30, 2023 thru

December 29, 2023

5002

Abstracting 1 Hour

Six Month Extension:

June 30, 2023 thru

December 29, 2023

Approx. 2250

Each

$

$









5004

Case Finding 1 Hour

Six Month Extension:

June 30, 2023 thru

December 29, 2023

Approx. 1750

Each

$

$









5005

Quality Control 1 Hour

Six Month Extension:

June 30, 2023 thru

December 29, 2023

Approx. 300

Each

$

$











SIX MONTH TOTAL $ _________________________________



 







The solicitation package will be posted on FedBizOpps, which can be accessed at www.fedbizopps.gov. The Government will not provide paper copies of the solicitation. Telephone, written, or facsimile, requests, for the solicitation package will not be honored. All interested parties MUST be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) Database and have completed On-Line Representation and Certifications Application (ORCA) in order to receive a contract award. If you are not registered with SAM, you may request an application via phone at 866-606-8220 or register on-line at https://www.sam.gov. To keep informed of changes: Check www.fedbizopps.gov frequently.



DISCLAIMER AND IMPORTANT NOTES: The government is in no way obligated to do business with or enter into the award a contract to any firm or its affiliates or otherwise pay for the information provided in this synopsis.



STATEMENT OF WORK

CANCER REGISTRY SERVICE CONTRACT

Description of Services

Scope of Work. The Contractor shall provide all personnel, transportation, equipment and software within the scope of practice to supply Cancer Registry support services in support of the Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS) Cancer Program. The contractor will provide data abstraction, registry management, quality assurance, and consulting services to the VA North Texas Health Care System Cancer Registry. The Contractor staff will collect, manage, analyze, and disseminate information on all cancer patients diagnosed or treated at the VA North Texas Health Care System. Currently, the VANTHCS Cancer Registry has an approximately 18-month backlog in abstracting.

Period of Performance

Base year: June 30, 2018 June 29, 2019

Option Year One:         June 30, 2019 June 29, 2020

Option Year Two:         June 30, 2020 June 29, 2021

Option Year Three:       June 30, 2021 June 29, 2022

Option Year Four:       June 30, 2022 June 29, 2023



Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

General Registry Operations

Abstracting

Case finding

QC Corrections

Requests for Information

Follow-up

Project Management

Developing/Maintaining Project Parameters

Employee Credentialing

Project Setup/Training/Remote Access

NCDB edits/submission

Cancer Committee/Cancer Program Activities

Cancer Registry Data Reports/Requests/Studies

CoC Cancer Program Practice Profile Reports

CoC Survey Activities

QC of Registry Data/CAP Review

Quality Management QC reviews and verification

Education Support Services

Client Employee evaluation/assessment

Client Employee Mentoring



Project parameters will be created to ensure abstracting guidelines are followed ensuring hospital specific fields and requirements are included.

Contracted staff will register all patients with malignant neoplasms, benign tumors of the brain and central nervous system and other reportable neoplasms.

Contracted staff will conduct lifetime follow-up on patients with invasive cancers.

The contractor will provide cancer information to staff physicians, hospital administrators, and researchers (local, state and national).

Contractor is responsible for coding, abstracting and reporting required information and data elements related to the tumor registry.

Contract staff will identify and code pertinent information regarding patients diagnosis including demographics, diagnosis, site and histology, diagnostic procedures, extent of disease, and treatment

Contractor will use VistA Tumor Registry database to enter, edit, update, list, delete and print relevant cases

Submits the data at least monthly to the VA Central Cancer Registry (VACCR), American College of Surgeon's National Cancer Database (NCDB), Department of Public Health, and the State of Texas Tumor Registry.

Contractor will actively participate in RQRS and will submit all eligible cases for all valid performance measures, and adheres to the RQRS terms and conditions as well as provide performance reports to the Cancer Committee at least semi-annually.

The Contractor will protect the patients rights to privacy and complies with ethical and legal requirements of the health care delivery system.

Contractor will meet the monthly deadline for reporting cancer data to VACCR which includes written notification if there are no cancer cases to report in a given month.

The contractor will serve as a consultant for ACoS CoC standards compliance to include but not limited to recommendations of best practices as well as examples of appropriate documentation. Mock surveys and program assessments to determine preparedness prior to survey recommended.

Contracted staff must attend VANTHCS Cancer Committee Meetings monthly; will attend cancer related sub-committees as needed or recommended by the Cancer Committee to ensure standards compliance.

Contractor will provide assistance with Survey Deficiency Resolution as indicated in the pending Performance Activity Report

The contractor should provide a list of facilities, both previous and current, within the past three years. This list should include a contact name and phone number for each facility.



Qualifications

Prior to commencing work all Contractor employees shall meet certain criteria to perform work under this contract as a Cancer Registrar

The contractor should staff experienced Certified Tumor Registrar (CTR) and produce proof of current credential status.

The contractor should show proof that the Certified Tumor Registrars on their staff are not current VA employees.

The contractor should show proof of attendance at recent continuing education activities including state cancer registry trainings and cancer registry association education meetings.

The contractor should demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the VACCR reporting requirements as well as Commission on Cancer

The contractor should have a working knowledge of abstracting software programs and computer hardware.

The contractor must demonstrate knowledge of Federal Information Laws, Regulations and Statutes, SEER and AJCC staging of malignancies, ICD-O coding for topography and morphology, cancer treatment modalities and Commission of Cancer Facility Oncology Registry Data Standards.

The contractor must demonstrate extensive knowledge and understanding of ACoS and/or facility requirements for administering, monitoring and reporting compliance of the cancer program to the governing bodies

Contractor must show proof of pre-employment testing/competency for each abstractor assigned to the project once awarded

Contractor must show proof of required HIPAA training for each abstractor to the project once awarded

Contractor must provide a copy of their encryption and security policy





Quality Control

The COR will oversee the contractor s activities and performance.

The contractor will make data corrections free of charge as a result of edit error reports received from the VACCR or records rejected because they lack supporting English text and/or have missing data elements.

The managing registrar will perform regular quality checks of the contractor's work.

The contractor will meet the monthly deadline for reporting cancer data to VACCR and NCDB which includes written notification if there are no cancer cases to report in a given month.

The managing registrar at the VA facility will conduct regular quality checks on the contractor s work.



Confidentiality

Confidentiality and security of patient data should always be maintained. The release of information from the Cancer Registry is in compliance with VHA M-1, Part 1, Chapt. 9; Appendix D, Chg 12 and VHA DIRECTIVE 2007-023.

The use of registry data should be encouraged by hospital staff for staff conferences and for the preparation of manuscripts, reports, studies, etc. These requests will be documented in an electronic database with the date of request, topic of the report - including the period covered, variable included in the report, person(s) requesting the report, purpose of the report (study, paper, oral presentation).

Precautions to assure confidentiality in the computerized registry must be taken.

Access must be restricted to Cancer Registry personnel only.

Care must be taken in the destruction of the computer print-out listings no longer required this will be accomplished by shredding.

Information should only be released to other Cancer Registry needing information from one hospital to another to fulfill these purposes, if there is documentation that the patient is receiving treatment at that facility.

Work schedule. Typical work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am 4:30 pm. However, a flexible work schedule will be considered to accommodate the needs of Contractor and VANTHCS. VA North Texas Cancer Program and the Contractor will establish a record keeping system of contractor hours worked. Contractor employees shall adhere to VANTHCS Cancer Program record keeping requirements. Actual hours required for performance of this contract will be mutually agreed to by both the using service and the contractor.

The following is a list of U.S. Government holidays. If the holiday falls on a Saturday, the proceeding Friday is observed as the holiday; if the holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is observed as the holiday and any other day specifically declared by the President of the United States to be a national holiday.



HOLIDAY DATE



New Year s Day Jan 1

Martin Luther King s Birthday 3rd Monday in Jan

President s Day 3rd Monday in Feb

Memorial Day Last Monday in May

Independence Day July 4

Labor Day 1st Monday in Sep

Columbus Day 2nd Monday in Oct

Veterans Day Nov 11

Thanksgiving Day 4th Thursday in November

Christmas Day December 25



CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

After contracted staff has completed the background investigation and appropriate security training, the facility will coordinate remote access or provide a VA-issued laptop for use during the period of the contract. The contractor will be fiscally responsible for any loss or damage to government property. In order to carry out contracted duties, the contracted certified cancer registrar staff will be granted computer access to VISTA, VACCR and the electronic medical record. The locums Cancer Registrars will be given training by appropriate VA staff to utilize these programs.

Background Investigation Requirements The position sensitivity for a Certified Tumor Registrar has been designated as LOW RISK. The level of background investigation commensurate with the required level of access is: NACI (National Agency Check with Written Inquiries). The cost of the background investigation has been assessed at $ 230.00 for each Contractor employee. Position Sensitivity The schedule for services will be set up with Contractor based on the needs of VA North Texas Cancer Program.

CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

All contractor employees who require access to the Department of Veterans Affairs computer systems shall be the subject of a background investigation and must (forms and fingerprints must be submitted) receive a favorable adjudication from the VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement prior to contract performance. This requirement is applicable to all subcontractor personnel requiring the same access. If the investigation is not completed prior to the start date of the contract, the contractor will be responsible for the actions of those individuals they provide to perform work for VA.

Contractor Background Investigation Responsibilities

a. The contractor shall bear the expense of obtaining background investigations. If

the investigation is conducted by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Contractor shall reimburse the VA within 30 days.



b. The Contractor shall prescreen all personnel requiring access to VA computer

systems to ensure they possess U.S. citizenship and are able to read, write,

speak and understand the English language.

c. The Contractor shall submit, or have their employees submit the following required

forms to the VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement within 30 days of

receipt:

(I) Standard Form 85 Questionnaire

(II) FD 258, U.S. Department of Justice Fingerprint Application Chart

(III) Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment

d. The Contractor, when notified of an unfavorable determination by the Government,

shall withdraw the employee from consideration from performing work under the contract.

e. Failure to comply with the contractor personnel security requirements may result in

termination of the contract for default.

Government Background Investigation Responsibilities

a. The VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement will provide the necessary forms

to Contractor or to the Contractor s employees after receiving a list of names and

addresses.

b. Upon receipt, the VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement will review the

completed forms for accuracy and forward the forms to OPM to conduct the

background investigation.

c. The VA facility will pay for investigations conducted by the Office of Personnel

Management (OPM) in advance. In these instances, the contractor will reimburse

the VA facility within 30 days.

d. The VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement will notify the contracting officer

and contractor after adjudicating the results of the background investigations

received from OPM.

e. The contracting officer will ensure that the contractor provides evidence that an

investigation has been completed or are in the process of being requested.

Security Statement Requirements:



No memory device will be removed from the VA Facility without the approval of the Facility Information Security Officer (ISO).  



Bio-Medical devices and other equipment or systems (workstations, copies, FAX, prints) containing media (hard drives, optical disks, etc.) with VA sensitive information must not be returned to the vendor during off site repairs, warranty period, at the end of lease, for trade-in, or other purposes. Vendor must accept the system without the drive;



Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1).



No VA information shall be transferred outside of the VA.



The term security incident means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. In such an event, the contractor/subcontractor shall immediately notify the COTR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the contractor/subcontractor has access.



Consistent with the requirements of 38 U.S.C. §5725, a contract may require access to sensitive personal information. If so, the contractor is liable to VA for liquidated damages in the event of a data breach or privacy incident involving any SPI the contractor/subcontractor processes or maintains under this contract.



Based on the determinations of the independent risk analysis, the contractor shall be responsible for paying to the VA liquidated damages in the amount of $29.95 per affected individual to cover the cost of providing credit protection services to affected individuals consisting of the following:



Notification;

One year of credit monitoring services consisting of automatic daily monitoring of at least 3 relevant credit bureau reports;

Data breach analysis;

Fraud resolution services, including writing dispute letters, initiating fraud alerts and credit freezes, to assist affected individuals to bring matters to resolution;

One year of identity theft insurance with $20,000.00 coverage at $0 deductible; and

Necessary legal expenses the subjects may incur to repair falsified or damaged credit records, histories, or financial affairs.



Training

All contractor employees and subcontractor employees requiring access to VA information and VA information systems shall complete the following before being granted access to VA information and its systems:

Sign and acknowledge (either manually or electronically) understanding of and responsibilities for compliance with the Contractor Rules of Behavior, Appendix E relating to access to VA information and information systems;

Successfully complete the VA Cyber Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior training and annually complete required security training;

Successfully complete the appropriate VA privacy training and annually complete required privacy training; and

Successfully complete any additional cyber security or privacy training, as require VA personnel with equivalent information system access [to be defined by the VA program official and provided to the contracting officer for inclusion in the solicitation document e.g., any role-based information security training required in accordance with NIST Special Publication 800-16, Information Technology Security Training Requirements.]

The contractor shall provide to the contracting officer and/or the COTR a copy of the training certificates and certification of signing the Contractor Rules of Behavior for each applicable employee within 1 week of the initiation of the contract and annually thereafter, as required.

Failure to complete the mandatory annual training and sign the Rules of Behavior annually, within the timeframe required, is grounds for suspension or termination of all physical or electronic access privileges and removal from work on the contract until such time as the training and documents are complete.

If a vendor that anticipates that the services under the contract will be performed by 10 or more individual, the Contractor Rules of Behavior may be signed by the vendor s designated representative.  By signing the Rules of Behavior on behalf of the vendor that the designated representative agrees to ensure that all such individual review and understand the Contractor Rule of Behavior when accessing the VA s information and information systems. 

INFORMATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

839.201 Contract clause for Information and Information Technology Security:

a. Due to the threat of data breach, compromise or loss of information that resides on either VA-owned or contractor-owned systems, and to comply with Federal laws and regulations, VA has developed an Information and Information Technology Security clause to be used when VA sensitive information is accessed, used, stored, generated, transmitted, or exchanged by and between VA and a contractor, subcontractor or a third party in any format (e.g., paper, microfiche, electronic or magnetic portable media).

b. In solicitations and contracts where VA Sensitive Information or Information Technology will be accessed or utilized, the CO shall insert the clause found at 852.273-75, Security Requirements for Unclassified Information Technology Resources.

2. 852.273-75 - SECURITY REQUIREMENTS FOR UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES (INTERIM- OCTOBER 2008)

As prescribed in 839.201, insert the following clause:

The contractor, their personnel, and their subcontractors shall be subject to the Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks regarding information and information system security as delineated in this contract.

Records Management

1. Citations to pertinent laws, codes and regulations such as 44 U.S.C Chapter 21 , 29, 31

and 33; Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552); Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a); 36 CFR

Part 1222 and Part 1228.

2. Contractor shall treat all deliverables under the contract as the property of the U.S.

Government for which the Government Agency shall have unlimited rights to use, dispose

of, or disclose such data contained therein as it determines to be in the public interest.

3. Contractor shall not create or maintain any records that are not specifically tied to or

authorized by the contract using Government IT equipment and/or Government records.

4. Contractor shall not retain, use, sell, or disseminate copies of any deliverable that contains

information covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 or that which is generally protected by the

Freedom of Information Act.

5. Contractor shall not create or maintain any records containing any Government Agency

records that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract or identified in the RCS 10-1.

6. The Government Agency owns the rights to all data/records produced as part of this

contract.

7. The Government Agency owns the rights to all electronic information (electronic data,

electronic information systems, electronic databases, etc.) and all supporting

documentation created as part of this contract. Contractor must deliver sufficient technical

documentation with all data deliverables to permit the agency to use the data.

8. Contractor agrees to comply with Federal and Agency records management policies,

including those policies associated with the safeguarding of records covered by the Privacy

Act of 1974. These policies include the preservation of all records created or received

regardless of format [paper, electronic, etc.] or mode of transmission [e-mail, fax, etc.] or

state of completion [draft, final, etc.].

9. No disposition of documents will be allowed without the prior written consent of the

Contracting Officer. The Agency and its contractors are responsible for preventing the

alienation or unauthorized destruction of records, including all forms of mutilation. Willful

and unlawful destruction, damage or alienation of Federal records is subject to the fines

and penalties imposed by 18 U.S.C. 2701. Records may not be removed from the legal

custody of the Agency or destroyed without regard to the provisions of the agency records

schedules.

10. Contractor is required to obtain the Contracting Officer's approval prior to engaging in any contractual relationship (sub-contractor) in support of this contract requiring the disclosure

of information, documentary material and/or records generated under or relating to this

contract. The Contractor (and any sub-contractor) is required to abide by Government and

Agency guidance for protecting sensitive and proprietary information.



END STATEMENT OF WORK



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